Jones Bill Seals Eviction Records When The Tenant Wins

The text as introduced · 709 words

90R3314 DRS-F

By: Jones of Dallas
H.B. No. 637

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the confidentiality of residential eviction case

information.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 24, Property Code, is amended by adding

Section 24.012 to read as follows:

Sec. 24.012. CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS RELATED TO RESIDENTIAL

EVICTION CASE INFORMATION. (a) In this section:

(1) "Eviction case" means a lawsuit brought under this

chapter to recover possession of leased or rented residential real

property from a tenant, including a tenant at will or a tenant at

sufferance.

(2) "Eviction case information" means all records and

files related to a filing of an eviction case, including petitions

and their dispositions.

(3) "Landlord" means:

(A) an owner, lessor, or sublessor of a dwelling;

(B) a management company or managing agent for a

dwelling, including an on-site manager; or

(C) a rent collector for a dwelling.

(b) Concurrently with a judgment or order of dismissal in an

eviction case, a court shall enter an order making confidential the

eviction case information pertaining to a defendant if:

(1) a judgment is entered in favor of the defendant;

(2) the case is dismissed without any relief granted

to the plaintiff; or

(3) the defendant is a residential tenant not

otherwise in default and the eviction case is brought by the

successor in interest following foreclosure.

(c) On petition of a defendant in an eviction case after a

judgment or order of dismissal has been entered, a court shall enter

an order making confidential the eviction case information

pertaining to a defendant if:

(1) at least five years have elapsed from the date of

the final judgment in the eviction case;

(2) the defendant was a residential tenant not

otherwise in default and the eviction case was brought by the

successor in interest following foreclosure; or

(3) a confidentiality order was not issued and:

(A) a judgment was entered in favor of the

defendant; or

(B) the case was dismissed.

(d) Concurrently with a judgment or order of dismissal in an

eviction case or on petition of a defendant in an eviction case

after a judgment or dismissal in the case, a court may enter an

order making confidential the eviction case information pertaining

to the defendant if the court finds that:

(1) it is in the interest of justice; and

(2) the interest of justice is not outweighed by the

public's interest in knowing the eviction case information.

(e) If an order is entered making eviction case information

confidential under this section:

(1) a court or clerk may not intentionally disclose

the eviction case information, except:

(A) to any judge or court staff;

(B) to the parties to the suit or the parties'

counsel; or

(C) in a form that omits any personal identifying

information of the parties, to any other person, agency, or

institution approved by the court with a legitimate interest in the

work of the court; and

(2) except to the extent permitted by federal law, a

credit reporting agency, a person, other than a landlord, who

regularly collects and disseminates eviction case information, or a

person who sells eviction case information may not:

(A) disclose the existence of the eviction case;

or

(B) use the eviction case information as a factor

in determining a score or recommendation in a tenant screening

report regarding the defendant.

(f) A person who knowingly violates Subsection (e) is liable

to an injured party for:

(1) actual damages or, if unable to prove actual

damages, exemplary damages of not more than $1,000; and

(2) reasonable attorney's fees of not more than

$10,000 and court costs.

(g) Notwithstanding Section 41.004(a), Civil Practice and

Remedies Code, a court shall award exemplary damages under

Subsection (f)(1) to the injured party if the party is not awarded

actual damages.

(h) This section does not prohibit a party to an eviction

case from abstracting the judgment in the case.

(i) The supreme court shall adopt rules necessary to

implement this section.

SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2028, the Texas Supreme

Court shall adopt the rules necessary to implement Section 24.012,

Property Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2028.